Abstract Musculoskeletal, neural, and skin injuries present significant clinical challenges due to limited regenerative capacity and complex physiological interactions. Ferroelectric biomaterials—including PVDF, P(VDF-TrFE), BaTiO₃, BiFeO₃, KNN, and PLLA—have emerged as promising candidates for tissue repair owing to their electromechanical responsiveness and biocompatibility. Extensive research has focused on their cross-coupling effects to develop high-performance biomaterials. However, progress in ferroelectric materials for tissue repair remains comparatively fragmented, primarily due to the poorly understood and multifaceted interplay between material performance and biological responses. This review systematically examines the role of ferroelectric biomaterials in modulating biological processes, with emphasis on their cross-coupling effects in cellular behavior and tissue regeneration. We further analyze how key fabrication techniques influence material properties and therapeutic outcomes. By integrating design principles, material science, and biological efficacy, this work provides a comprehensive framework for developing ferroelectric biomaterials as self-powered, adaptive, and clinically viable solutions for regenerative medicine.
Electronics, Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials
Yerbolat Makhambetov, Sultan Kabylkanov, Saule Abdulina
et al.
This study investigates the thermodynamic and experimental aspects of producing a chromium–manganese ligature under high-temperature smelting conditions using low-grade iron–manganese ore and ferrosilicochrome (FeSiCr) dust as both a reducing agent and a chromium source. Thermodynamic modeling of the multicomponent Fe–Cr–Mn–Si–Al–Ca–Mg–O system was carried out using the HSC Chemistry 10 and FactSage 8.4 software packages to substantiate the temperature regime, reducing agent consumption, and conditions for the formation of a stable metal–slag system. The calculations indicated that efficient reduction of manganese oxides and formation of the metallic phase are achieved at a smelting temperature of 1600 °C with a reducing agent consumption of approximately 50 kg. Experimental smelting trials conducted in a laboratory Tammann furnace under the calculated parameters confirmed the validity of the thermodynamic predictions and demonstrated the feasibility of obtaining a concentrated chromium–manganese ligature. The resulting metallic product exhibited a high total content of alloying elements and had the following chemical composition (wt.%): Fe 35.41, Cr 41.10, Mn 8.15, and Si 4.31. SEM–EDS microstructural analysis revealed a uniform distribution of chromium and manganese within the metallic matrix, indicating stable reduction behavior and favorable melt crystallization conditions. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of an integrated thermodynamic–experimental approach for producing chromium–manganese ligatures from low-grade mineral raw materials and industrial by-products and confirm the potential applicability of the proposed process for complex steel alloying.
TRAINING MATERIALS: · Training Power Point presents an overview of material in the training handout · Training Handout presents introductory topic content information for the event · Sample Tournament has sample problems with key · Event Supervisor Guide has event preparation tips, setup needs and scoring tips · Internet Resource & Training Materials are available on the Science Olympiad website at www.soinc.org under Event Information. · A Biology-Earth Science CD, a Genetics CD for Heredity and Designer Genes as well as the Division B and Division C Test Packets are available from SO store at www.soinc.org
Betsy Rolland, Shruthi Venkatesh, Allan R. Brasier
Abstract
Introduction:
The conduct of Clinical and Translational Research (CTR) requires the engagement of highly effective collaborative teams. Clinical and Translational Science Award hubs have employed team-building strategies to improve team processes and interpersonal relationships in CTR teams. As previously reported, the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (UW-ICTR) team science core operationalized and implemented one such strategy: Collaboration Planning. Here, we report on optimization of that intervention and assessment of three outcomes: (1) Changes in clarity and confidence around team processes; (2) Value and usefulness; and (3) Plans for future behavior change.
Materials and Methods:
Collaboration Planning 2.0 improves upon our initial implementation by (1) optimizing the worksheet for flow, accessibility, and deeper discussion; (2) expanding the evaluation process; and (3) creating a facilitator training to support broad dissemination. We tested this iteration in 11 UW-ICTR pilot teams using pre- and post-session self-assessment surveys.
Results:
Data indicated an increase in participants’ clarity and confidence around all measured team processes except authorship. Ninety-one percent of participants found the intervention both valuable and useful. Participants indicated plans for future behavior change, including increased attention to team processes. To date, more than 400 individuals have completed the Collaboration Planning Facilitator Training, indicating a deep need in the community for tools for effective team-focused interventions.
Conclusion:
These results provide evidence that Collaboration Planning is an effective, accessible, low-barrier intervention for improving team processes and interpersonal relationships in CTR teams. Future work includes expanded evaluation, greater personalization of the intervention, and self-administered facilitation.
Abstract We designed an external stimulus-responsive anti-Stokes emission switching using dual-annihilator-based triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion systems. This system, which was constructed by incorporating a palladium porphyrin derivative as a sensitizer and 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) and 9,10-bis(triisopropylsilyl)ethynylanthracene (TIPS) as annihilators into polymer thin films, produced TIPS- and DPA-based anti-Stokes emission under low and high excitation powers, respectively. The mechanism involves the following: under low excitation power, triplet energy transfer from triplet-excited PdOEP to DPA is induced, followed by relay to TIPS. This results in the generation of triplet-excited TIPS, and the subsequent triplet–triplet annihilation between them produces TIPS-based anti-Stokes emission. Conversely, under high excitation power, the high-density triplet-excited DPA, generated through triplet energy transfer from PdOEP, undergoes triplet–triplet annihilation among themselves, resulting in the generation of DPA-based anti-Stokes emission. Additionally, we achieved energy savings by reducing the required excitation power for switching through the utilization of plasmonic metal nanoparticles. The strong local electromagnetic fields associated with the localized surface plasmon resonance of metal nanoparticles enhance the photoexcitation efficiency of PdOEP, subsequently increasing the density of triplet-excited DPA. As a result, anti-Stokes emission switching becomes feasible at lower excitation powers.
Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials
This paper investigates the fatigue failure mechanism of mono- and multilayer coatings on the fatigue performance of TC11 titanium alloy under tension-tension. The morphology, phase composition, mechanical properties were measured by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer and nanoindentation. Electron back scatter diffraction was employed to investigated the failure mechanism. Fatigue limits obtained of uncoated TC11, TC11 with TiN coating, TiN/Ti multilayer (ML-6, ML-3, ML-1) and after 1 × 107 cycles are 855 MPa, 550 MPa, 525 MPa, 500 MPa and 400 MPa. Under fatigue loading, the hard-coating/TC11 substrate experiences fatigue failure through coating cracking hastens the substrate's fatigue failure. EBSD analysis results indicate that the main slip system of TC11 titanium alloy under tension-tension fatigue load is α phase (10-10)[-12-10]. After 1 × 107 cycles at fatigue limits, the average dislocation density on the surface of the TC11 with TiN coating is lower than that of TC11. Due to the surface defect induced by coating preparation and high crack propagation velocity, the hard coating significantly deteriorates fatigue property of TC11 by reducing fatigue crack initiation period. Therefore, instead of approaching from the perspective of coating structure design to increase the fatigue crack propagation cycles, it is more effective to reduce the surface roughness of the coating and enhance the fatigue crack initiation cycles.
Nerve guidance conduits for peripheral nerve injuries can be improved using bioactive materials such as magnesium (Mg) and its alloys, which could provide both structural and trophic support. Therefore, we investigated whether exposure to Mg and Mg-1.6wt%Li thin films (Mg/Mg-1.6Li) would alter acute Schwann cell responses to injury. Using the RT4-D6P2T Schwannoma cell line (SCs), we tested extracts from freeze-killed cells (FKC) and nerves (FKN) as in vitro injury stimulants. Both FKC and FKN induced SC release of the macrophage chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), a marker of the repair SC phenotype after injury. Next, FKC-stimulated cells exposed to Mg/Mg-1.6Li reduced MCP-1 release by 30%, suggesting that these materials could have anti-inflammatory effects. Exposing FKC-treated cells to Mg/Mg-1.6Li reduced the gene expression of the nerve growth factor (NGF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), and myelin protein zero (MPZ), but not the p75 neurotrophin receptor. In the absence of FKC, Mg/Mg-1.6Li treatment increased the expression of NGF, p75, and MPZ, which can be beneficial to nerve regeneration. Thus, the presence of Mg can differentially alter SCs, depending on the microenvironment. These results demonstrate the applicability of this in vitro nerve injury model, and that Mg has wide-ranging effects on the repair SC phenotype.
Abstract Atomic sawtooth surfaces have emerged as a versatile platform for growth of single-crystal van der Waals layered materials. However, the mechanism governing the formation of single-crystal atomic sawtooth metal (copper or gold) films on hard substrates (tungsten or molybdenum) remains a puzzle. In this study, we aim to elucidate the formation mechanism of atomic sawtooth metal films during melting–solidification process. Utilizing molecular dynamics, we unveil that the solidification of the liquid copper initiates at a high-index tungsten facet with higher interfacial energy. Subsequent tungsten facets follow energetically favourable pathways of forming single-crystal atomic sawtooth copper film during the solidification process near melting temperature. Formation of atomic sawtooth copper film is guaranteed with a film thickness exceeding the grain size of polycrystalline tungsten substrate. We further demonstrate the successful growth of centimeter-scale single-crystal monolayer hexagonal boron nitride films on atomic sawtooth copper films and explore their potential as efficient oxygen barrier.
In this paper, Zr and Mo elements are introduced into the Nb–Si based alloy to improve the room-temperature fracture toughness and oxidation resistance at high-temperature environment. Nb–16Si–24Ti-xZr-yMo (x = 4, 8; y = 3, 6) alloys were prepared by arc melting and their room-temperature fracture toughness and oxidation resistance at 1250 °C is investigated. Results show that the addition of Zr and Mo element promotes the formation of lamellar Nbss-(Nb, X)5Si3 eutectic structure, which is beneficial to the fracture toughness. The room-temperature fracture toughness increases with the content of alloying element. The KQ value of Nb–16Si–24Ti–8Zr–6Mo alloy reaches 14.88 MPa ·m1/2, which is 72% higher than that of the Nb–16Si–24Ti original alloy. The oxidation resistance decreases due to the presence of more Nbss phase and the holes left by Mo oxide. However, the generation of ZrO2 and the volatilization of Mo oxide relieve the internal stress of oxide film and improve the integrity and adhesion of the oxide layer.
Vida Rahimi, Elham Tavanai, Mohammad Ehsan Khalili
et al.
Introduction: Antiviral drugs have been extensively used as a potential treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on previous studies, there were concerns about some of these drugs’ ototoxic and vestibulotoxic effects. Still, these concerns were exacerbated by the widespread use of these drugs at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this article was done to comprehensively review the effects of ototoxicity and vestibulotoxicity of chloroquine (CQ)/hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and remdesivir with different administration models and compare with the COVID-19 treatment guidelines in the world and Iran.
Materials and Methods: This study collected the related published studies in PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science with the main keywords “chloroquine”, “hydroxychloroquine”, “remdesivir”, “ototoxicity”, “vestibulotoxicity”, and “COVID-19”.
Results: The dose or duration of used HCQ/CQ drugs that caused ototoxic or vestibulotoxic effects in some diseases was reported mainly more than in COVID-19 guidelines, especially in Iran. These findings align with a recent study on slight HCQ-induced ototoxicity in patients with COVID-19 at low doses and short lengths of use. No evidence of possible cochlear damage after taking remdesivir is reported.
Conclusion: It seems that the concern about the ototoxic effects of some drugs used in the COVID-19 pandemic should be according to some factors that affect the pharmacological effects of drugs, such as dose, length of use, and co-administration of drugs. Therefore, lower dosage and length of use in some administration models in COVID-19 treatment, such as Iran, are associated with limited and reversible ototoxicity effects. However, further studies are needed.
Accurately identifying the high-temperature history experienced by rocks is essential for understanding their behaviour and predicting properties. However, current approaches are limited by the heterogeneity of rocks, test scale and costs. Here, we proposed an economical, efficient and accurate approach to identifying the rocks after high-temperature deterioration via deep learning. This deep learning-based method exhibited superior abilities in distinguishing the heat-treated rock. Using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image covering a size of 14.6 μm × 14.6 μm, the high-temperature deterioration history of rocks can be recognized with an accuracy of 80.2%. Features such as cracks, rock patterns, and cleavage steps in SEM images would further improve the recognition accuracy. For example, SEM images with higher fractal box dimensions show a higher recognization accuracy, especially for temperatures under 600 °C. Besides, using the deep Taylor decomposition algorithm, the high-temperature deterioration regions of the rocks in the microscale were successfully located, extracted, and characterized for the first time. This study highlights the vast potential of the deep learning-based approach in damage deterioration identification of rock after high temperature, which significantly extends the application of deep learning in underground projects.
Abstract Upgrading ethanol to long-chain alcohols (LAS, C6+OH) offers an attractive and sustainable approach to carbon neutrality. Yet it remains a grand challenge to achieve efficient carbon chain propagation, particularly with noble metal-free catalysts in aqueous phase, toward LAS production. Here we report an unconventional but effective strategy for designing highly efficient catalysts for ethanol upgrading to LAS, in which Ni catalytic sites are controllably exposed on surface through sulfur modification. The optimal catalyst exhibits the performance well exceeding previous reports, achieving ultrahigh LAS selectivity (15.2% C6OH and 59.0% C8+OH) at nearly complete ethanol conversion (99.1%). Our in situ characterizations, together with theoretical simulation, reveal that the selectively exposed Ni sites which offer strong adsorption for aldehydes but are inert for side reactions can effectively stabilize and enrich aldehyde intermediates, dramatically improving direct-growth probability toward LAS production. This work opens a new paradigm for designing high-performance non-noble metal catalysts for upgrading aqueous EtOH to LAS.
Rahul Kumar Gangwar, Sneha Kumari, Akhilesh Kumar Pathak
et al.
The current generation is witnessing a huge interest in optical waveguides due to their salient features: they are of low cost, immune to electromagnetic interference, easy to multiplex, have a compact size, etc. These features of optical fibers make them a useful tool for various sensing applications including in medicine, automotives, biotechnology, food quality control, aerospace, physical and chemical monitoring. Among all the reported applications, optical waveguides have been widely exploited to measure the physical and chemical variations in the surrounding environment. Optical fiber-based temperature sensors have played a crucial role in this decade to detect high fever and tackle COVID-19-like pandemics. Recognizing the major developments in the field of optical fibers, this article provides recent progress in temperature sensors utilizing several sensing configurations including conventional fiber, photonic crystal fiber, and Bragg grating fibers. Additionally, this article also highlights the advantages, limitations, and future possibilities in this area.
The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system in automobiles using urea solution as a source of NH3 suffers from solid deposit problems in pipelines and poor efficiency during engine startup. Although direct use of high pressure NH3 is restricted due to safety concerns, which can be overcome by using solid sorbents as NH3 carrier. Strontium chloride (SrCl2) is considered the best sorbent due to its high sorption capacity; however, challenges are associated with the processing of stable engineering structures due to extraordinary volume expansion during the NH3 sorption. This study reports the fabrication of a novel structure consisting of a zeolite cage enclosing the SrCl2 pellet (SPZC) through extrusion-based 3D printing (Direct Ink Writing). The printed SPZC structure demonstrated steady sorption of NH3 for 10 consecutive cycles without significant uptake capacity and structural integrity loss. Furthermore, the structure exhibited improved sorption and desorption kinetics than pure SrCl2. The synergistic effect of zeolite as physisorbent and SrCl2 as chemisorbent in the novel composite structure enabled the low-pressure (<0.4 bar) and high-pressure (>0.4 bar) NH3 sorption, compared to pure SrCl2, which absorbed NH3 at pressures above 0.4 bar. Regeneration of SPZC composite sorbent under evacuation showed that 87.5% percent of NH3 was desorbed at 20 °C. Thus, the results demonstrate that the rationally designed novel SPZC structure offers safe and efficient storage of NH3 in the SCR system and other applications.
The rapid development of internet technology and artificial intelligence drives the demand for flexible sensors. Compared with vacuum technology and solution method, the fabrication of flexible sensors by pencil writing directly has advantages such as low cost, simple operation, low temperature, and no pollution. However, they are based on paper and rely on rigid fibers on the surface of it. The polymer is comfortable, portable and has excellent tensile properties, making it more suitable than paper as flexible substrates for wearable devices. In this paper, flexible pressure sensors and arrays are prepared by friction on polymers (Eco-flex、PDMS and bionic skin). The sensitivity of the prepared pressure sensor was 0.78 kPa−1 in the range of 20 kPa, and the response time was 400 ms, while the pressure detection ranged up to 160 kPa. Finally, it can be reused for 1000 cycles. As a wearable device, it can be applied to object grasping, muscle movement and respiratory monitoring. Furthermore, by combining the friction process with the transfer printing process, the stretchable flexible pressure sensor can be prepared on 3D cylindrical and curved hemispherical surfaces. Moreover, patterned sensors can also be prepared. It should be noted that the sensor can be cleaned after being discarded and has no pollution to the environment due to the mild type of materials, which is of certain significance for the development of flexible sensors towards green and low-cost development trends.
Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials
Woo Seung Ham, Abdul-Muizz Pradipto, Kay Yakushiji
et al.
Abstract Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) is considered as one of the most important energies for specific chiral textures such as magnetic skyrmions. The keys of generating DMI are the absence of structural inversion symmetry and exchange energy with spin–orbit coupling. Therefore, a vast majority of research activities about DMI are mainly limited to heavy metal/ferromagnet bilayer systems, only focusing on their interfaces. Here, we report an asymmetric band formation in a superlattices (SL) which arises from inversion symmetry breaking in stacking order of atomic layers, implying the role of bulk-like contribution. Such bulk DMI is more than 300% larger than simple sum of interfacial contribution. Moreover, the asymmetric band is largely affected by strong spin–orbit coupling, showing crucial role of a heavy metal even in the non-interfacial origin of DMI. Our work provides more degrees of freedom to design chiral magnets for spintronics applications.
Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials, Computer software